


Satellite Mind

by scapegrace74



Series: Metric Universe [7]
Category: Outlander & Related Fandoms, Outlander (TV), Outlander Series - Diana Gabaldon
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-03 21:09:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24902116
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scapegrace74/pseuds/scapegrace74
Summary: I can’t stop myself.  I’m weak!  Weak!  The Saorsa-sequel is coming along, but the Metric universe just won’t leave me alone.  This story takes place just after Lost Kitten and Gimme Sympathy.Oh, and mild warning for foul language, if that’s not your thing.The song by Metric that inspired the title and a few lines is here: https://youtu.be/6F_Y0qNjfhI
Relationships: Claire Beauchamp/Jamie Fraser
Series: Metric Universe [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1759669
Comments: 27
Kudos: 90





	Satellite Mind

**January 14, 2017, Spittalfields, England**

“I’m happy for you, Geillis, really. I mean... Cartagena, wow. You can, what? Dabble in the emerald market?”

Her friend saw right through Claire’s glass face to her latent fear of abandonment. Fiercely independent, a precious handful of friendships and habits anchored her in the world. Without those tethers, she lived with a nameless dread that she might spin off into the void, lost in a great emptiness.

“Dinna lie tae me, Claire Beauchamp. Ye havna left yer bed in the twenty-four hours since I told ye. Ye’re jus’ starin’ up at the ceiling. Ye ken I wouldna ever want tae leave ya were it no’ for someone truly special. Juan Carlos, he’s...”

“Built like a stevedore and hung like a stallion, I believe were your exact words,” she interrupted, smiling despite herself at Geillis’ moonstruck infatuation. The redhead had met the Columbian businessman at a New Year’s celebration and now, two weeks’ later, had dropped the bombshell that she was planning on following him back across the Atlantic in the spring, leaving Claire without a roommate just as her income was nearly halved by the commencement of her medical studies.

“Aye, he is that. Everyone thinks I’m mad, but it’s the real thing between he and I. I jus’ feel it. Ye’ll ken the feeling yerself one day. But I willna leave ye high an’ dry. I’ll see ye settled, a’fore I go.”

Claire doubted that very much. It was Geillis’ name on the lease, which meant that as soon as she gave notice their landlord was free to increase the rent. Spittalfields was moving upmarket as one dilapidated industrial building after another was converted into lofts and chic office space for the urban gentry. There was no way she’d be able to afford the new payment at their current flat, even if she could find another roommate she could stomach. And moving out on her own was equally out of the question. The ghost of her past mistakes haunted her most when she was alone.

***

 **February 2, 2017, Royal London Hospital, England**

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” A metal spoon clattered into the break-room sink and a few other nurses glanced over, trying to decide if bloodshed between the two was imminent.

“Tis is a matter of some debate,” Geillis replied, undaunted. She’d expected this reaction, which was why she’d cornered Claire during the short overlap between their shifts when she couldn’t run away. At least the British Army had left Afghanistan, although South Sudan was still a possibility.

“James Fraser. You approached Jamie Fraser, without my permission I might add, to find out whether he still had a room to let. I cannot fucking believe you, Geillis Duncan! Where do you get off...”

“First,” Geillis interrupted the predicted tirade by holding up her index finger, “you yerself remarked on his lovely flat, and how fastidious he was. Second, tis in the neighbourhood an’ right around the corner from tha’ chipstand ye love. Third, ye’re both shift workers and will hardly see each other. Fourth, if ye do bump inta the wee fox cub when he’s runnin’ about in his skivvies, weel, thas a hardship many a lass would be willing tae face in yer place. And fifth,” here Geillis raised her palm and outstretched fingers right in front of Claire’s nose, “ye can afford it.”

Claire huffed, but was otherwise silent. She couldn’t deny that Geillis’ points were mostly valid, but she hated the idea of accepting charity from Jamie, of being seen as a burden. If she’d approached him herself, perhaps...

“Wait a second. How did you even know Jamie still had a room to let? Have you been in contact with him?” Something toxic simmered in her belly. Geillis and Jamie texting each other. Talking about her behind her back. Sharing intimacies from which she was excluded. It was a flashback of a feeling that hit too close to home for comfort.

“Och, no. Didna I tell ya? I ken the lad’s uncle, Dougal Mackenzie. Bald as a billiard cue, but tha’ man can fuck for hours. I remember one time, we were...”

“Oh my god, Geillis, please tell me you didn’t cheat on Jamie with his uncle!”

“It canna be cheatin’ if ye were ne’er together tae begin wi’,” Geillis pronounced. “Ye’re too ecclesiastical by half, Beauchamp. T’anyway, I hadna met Dougal when yon lad and I had our... dalliance. But imagine ma surprise when I showed up tae meet Dougal at Bethnall Fire Station in a wee red dress tighter than a nun’s chuff, an’ standin’ right next tae him is the fox cub, face turning bright as a forge. Twas an awkward moment tae be sure, even measurin’ by my very high standards.”

***

 **February 13, 2017, Spittalfields, England**

“Ye’ll be wantin’ tae look about the kitchen, I reckon. Twas the only room ye didna really see, when ye were here last. An’ the storage locker, but there’s nought down there but sportin’ equipment tha’ reeks tae high heaven. No’ that I dinna try tae wash out the stench, mind you.” 

Jamie resolved to limit himself to two word sentences for the rest of the tour. Anything more was too great a risk to his dignity.

“It’s lovely, especially with the morning sunlight streaming through the windows. How much is the monthly heating bill again?”

It was almost Valentine’s Day and Claire still didn’t know where she was going to live come March. She’d flipped through free rental magazines and scrolled a few message boards, but hadn’t made any serious efforts to secure a new home. She told herself she was too busy preparing for medical school and working full-time, but in the back closet of her mind she allowed the idea of moving in with Jamie to take root. 

Then, last night while drifting through the deep fog just before sleep she’d had a thought. Living with Jamie would finally put an end to all of Geillis’ awkward match-making efforts. If they were roommates, there was a valid reason they couldn’t be anything else besides. Rolling over and grabbing for her phone before she could second-guess herself, she fired off a quick text to the number Geillis had added to her Contacts under Wee Fox Cub. Despite the late hour, two minutes later he texted back. And now here she was, seriously contemplating the impossible.

They were sitting across from each other on the couch, negotiating terms. Claire found herself making ridiculous demands, somehow hoping that Jamie would balk at the last minute and this perilous adventure would come to its natural end.

“I’ll be studying when I’m not on shift, so loud noise and music is a deal breaker for me,” she listed while eyeing the bowl of trail mix set out on the coffee table.

“I own a good pair o’ wireless headphones, and my sister would tell ye there’s a reason I dinna sing outside o’ the shower. Did ye want some?” Jamie slide the bowl in her direction, but she shook her head.

“If I’m to live here, the flat will need to be ours equally. I know you lived here first, but I’d be paying half the rent. That means we share common elements down the middle. Half the cabinet space, half of the refrigerator and freezer.” She looked around the main room, where it was obvious Jamie did most of his living. “I’d want to put my desk below the window there, where there’s lots of natural light. I don’t want to always be hidden in my bedroom like some low-rent AirBnB guest.”

“O’ course,” Jamie quickly agreed. “I can clear out some of my books and such from the shelves as weel. And I was thinkin’ of movin’ the Xbox inta my room. There’s ano’er TV in there, ye ken, so ye won’t be exposed tae my tears while I’m watchin’ Six Nations matches.”

“That won’t be necessary, Jamie. I really don’t have many things. Some holdover to my years living out of a suitcase with my uncle, I suppose.”

He was being altogether too agreeable. It was time to break out the big guns.

“We need to talk about one last thing. Some might think it usual for a young woman who is single, living with a young man who is single to feel a certain...”

“Wha’ makes ye think I’m single?” Jamie interrupted, and she snapped her mouth shut in surprise.

“Well, with your history with Geillis, and I’ve never seen you with someone, I just assumed...” she trailed off, fighting down the urge to bolt.

Jamie laughed. “I’m teasin’ ye, Claire. O’ course I’m single. Do ye think I’d be contemplating inviting a bonnie lass tae share my flat if I were spoken for?”

“Well, that’s just the thing, isn’t it? People might make assumptions. One of us might do so as well. Feelings would get hurt. So I think it’s important to be very clear at the outset. You seem like a lovely man, but there will never be anything between us.”

“Because of my history wi’ Geillis, y’mean?” Jamie asked, looking crestfallen.

“Well, that as well. But also because I’ll be far too busy with work and my studies to sustain any kind of relationship, least of all with someone who, when things fall apart, would be in a position to leave me without a roof over my head. I’ve been there before, and I don’t intend to ever go back.”

“Aye, I see.” Jamie nodded absently, obviously digesting this large morsel of information and not finding it entirely to his taste.

“So that’s my final stipulation. I don’t mind if you have overnight visitors. You’re a grown man, and you can act as you please. But we need to agree that any kind of romantic relationship between us is off-limits.”

Claire grabbed a handful of snacks and popped them into her mouth. She observed Jamie as she chewed. In retrospect, this was a brilliant move on her part. If Jamie accepted, she would have solved for both her housing crisis and her ambivalent feelings towards the Scot. And if he declined, well, that would tell her something too.

Squaring his shoulders, Jamie extended his hand.

“We’re agreed.”

And that was how Jamie and Claire became just roommates.


End file.
